BOISE, Idaho — The suspect in the fall 2022 stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students will appear in a Boise courtroom for the first time later this week, and a question on the minds of observers is what he’ll be wearing.

Rather than jail-issued outfits, Bryan Kohberger has been allowed to wear professional attire, or “street clothes” as his defense team called them, for more than a year of pretrial court proceedings. The last time he wore standard jail clothing was at his arraignment in May 2023 in Latah County.

But with his murder case recently moved to Ada County and under a new judge, Kohberger’s defense team formally requested that their client continue to be permitted to avoid wearing jail clothing in the public eye. Anne Taylor, Kohberger’s lead attorney, argued that a defendant’s appearance in a courtroom can influence the way potential jurors determine whether a person is guilty of the charges against them.

“This request is owing to the public nature of the case and vast dissemination of images of Mr. Kohberger,” Taylor wrote in the defense’s court filing. “As such, avoiding coverage in jail clothing is one thing that can reduce prejudice.”

Under Idaho case law on the presumption of innocence, defendants have the right to wear street clothes at trial. But no such rule exists on the books ahead of the seating of a jury, state courts spokesperson Nate Poppino said in an email to the Idaho Statesman.

“So whether it is allowed for pretrial proceedings is in the hands of the judge,” he said.

Kohberger, 29, is accused of killing the four U of I undergrads at an off-campus home in Moscow in November 2022. At the time, Kohberger was a graduate student of criminal justice and criminology at Washington State University in Pullman just over the Idaho-Washington border.

The victims were seniors Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, both 21, junior Xana Kernodle and freshman Ethan Chapin, both 20. Kohberger was arrested about seven weeks later in December 2022, and jailed without bond ever since.

He is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if a jury returns a conviction. Kohberger’s defense aims to remove capital punishment as a possible sentence for their client.

In the meantime, his public defense team argued that Kohberger’s every move is being closely watched, and the way he’s allowed to look could impede his chance at a fair trial with an impartial jury.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson, who is leading the prosecution of Kohberger, has not publicly objected to him wearing street clothes.

“Much of the media coverage and social media posts focus on Mr. Kohberger’s appearance,” Taylor wrote. “Authorizing Mr. Kohberger to wear street clothing to all public hearings is one way to reduce potential for prejudice.”

She noted a large number of social media posts and news articles about Kohberger based on his photo earlier this month when he was booked into the Ada County Jail, after his transport from Moscow with the granting of a venue change. Kohberger has shown up for past court appearances clean-cut and usually in a suit and tie, and many of the recent posts focused on Kohberger’s facial hair in the Sept. 15 booking photo, she wrote.

The family of victim Kaylee Goncalves opposed a venue change out of Latah County. In addition, her parents have long questioned the granting of an exemption to their daughter’s suspected killer to wear anything other than jail jumpsuits ahead of trial.

“It makes me sick that he sits there in his suit … and all dressed up in a fresh haircut,” Kristi Goncalves, her mother, told NewsNation last year.

Kohberger is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

In her filing, Taylor cited as justification the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution and Article I from the Idaho Constitution, which includes due process and jury trial rights. She also referenced a 1976 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found a defendant cannot be forced to stand trial in jail attire.

The request from Kohberger’s defense also has precedent in high-profile cases in Idaho. Chad Daybell, who earlier this year was convicted of murdering his two stepchildren and his previous wife, was allowed by the presiding judge to wear street clothes in court ahead of his trial.

But historically those are extremely rare permissions in Idaho, said Boise-based criminal defense attorney Edwina Elcox, who briefly represented Daybell’s wife, Lori Vallow Daybell. Vallow Daybell also was convicted of murdering her two children and received a life sentence. Chad Daybell was sentenced to death.

Elcox said such pretrial clothing approvals constitute “special treatment,” which would not typically be extended to other Idaho defendants in custody under less intense media and public scrutiny. A more universal allowance for street clothes before trial would create another set of logistics not currently overseen by county jails and the court system, she said.

The Ada County Sheriff’s Office, which manages the Ada County Jail, does not offer clothing other than jail attire for court appearances, Deputy Lauren Montague, the sheriff’s office spokesperson, told the Statesman. A defendant’s attorneys would have to do so, she said.

Given the nature and circumstances of Kohberger’s case, however, Elcox said it may warrant the new judge, 4th Judicial District Judge Steven Hippler, to grant the same clothing exception that had been provided by the prior judge in Latah County.

“There’s an inherent prejudice that is visually reinforced when you see someone in a prison jumpsuit and handcuffs and ankle shackles,” Elcox said in a phone interview with the Statesman. “I can understand the defense is taking a concept absolutely afforded to defendants in front of a jury and asking the court to allow this because of the magnitude and widespread publicity of the case.”

Kohberger is due for a status conference before Hippler on Thursday afternoon at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise. The hearing will be livestreamed and available on the court’s YouTube page at: youtube.com/@idahofourthdistrictcourt.

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